Thursday, August 15, 2013

A Sneak Peek at the Mega Man UFS Trading Cards, Board Game

Gencon kicked off today, and as promised, Jasco's Mega Man Universal Fighting System trading card game was on display. For those who couldn't see it in person, our friend Boco managed to snap a few pictures. What's more, he brings us some new information:

"The UFS tins will have the starter deck, three boosters, three Robot
Master promo character cards, and a poster/playmat, and will be $30. Out
in October I think? I’ve never played UFS so you’ll have to ask someone
else for mechanics. But the cards look very nice, with art from the
Archie comics. Those vinyl playmats are also pretty killer and I might
pick up the one with all the RMs on it."

If you're interested, hit up Boco's Tumblr for more images of the cards, tins and collectible playmat. Now, as for Jasco's other Mega Man product, the official board game, we've got some preliminary news to share too. Read on for the lowdown.

Coming from Boco:

"The board game has its mechanics pretty much finalized, but everything
else is up in the air. They don't know what art assets Capcom will 1)
have, 2) let them use, 3) let them alter, and Capcom has been keeping
pretty close tabs on them to make sure they stay faithful to the
property, so the graphic design of the game is mostly not even close to
set. The base game will be the first game, there are planned expansions
to add characters and levels from the later games, and the game can be
played mix-and-match with any set of levels/RMs from any combination of
the games. There will be a Kickstarter for the board game starting in
September and continuing through the end of October.

A prototype
version of the board game will be around for demo tomorrow, but there's
nothing on display for it now except test 3D models of the Rockman and
Cutman minis. (there will be minis for each of the RMs from the first
game)."

Sounds pretty interesting, wouldn't say? The Kickstarter tidbit is a little odd, I must admit. Jasco already has the license to produce the game... but it needs funding? Hm.

Again, check back tomorrow for more news and maybe a few images. In the meantime, if you have any questions for the Jasco guys, either leave a comment for Boco or reblog this Tumblr post.

I talked a bit more with Jasco about the mechanics for the board game but I'll save those details until tomorrow when I can see the prototype version and play it too ^^

I think the Kickstarter is mostly for a preorder kind of thing? so they can fund the initial print run? Board games are really expensive to print/store/ship. But I can ask them about that specifically if you like. They did mention possible stretch goals (like playable Protoman, Roll, or other characters). I dunno, I'l ask them for more detail and stuff tomorrow.

Yes, please post any questions or comments you have and I'll be sure to relay them!

(btw I am not a "he" I am an "it's complicated". you can use whatever pronouns you like, so keep using 'he' or use 'she' or 'they' or 'ey' or whatever. just thought you might want to know)

I don't know UFS that well but it seemed like Megaman had a bunch of stuff to pump his damage and to draw extra cards and Protoman had stuff to enhance his blocks and to get rid of his played cards (and stuff that triggers when discarded or when you have already discarded stuff). Neither of them have forms or reactions (are those things?)

Oh wow that seems very fitting!I love how they went with such accuracy.

To shorten it up in better terms. Mega Man's effects are the equivalent of charging his buster for a high damage attack (+4 to Ranged Attack). And clogging their opponent's movements via weaknesses or power-ups (hindering their foundations gives them less of a chance to block your attacks)

Protoman's health is fairly low but his excellent defense via discarding momentum (in this case, his shield) and hand size make him very consistent. Discarding from your card pool makes it easier for you to attack your opponent, making your momentum charge up easily.

The fact that they lack forms and reactions to utilize these makes them very fast-paced hitters and makes them very likely to be used in competitive play because of how skilled they seem to be. It's looking like these decks will be excellent additions to the game.

Small update on the UFS cards. 1. They're trying to get the tins out in September to coincide with the Kickstarter but some retailers might not have them until early October, depending on when the shipments from the printers etc arrive and they can get them into distribution. 2. The wins are specifically geared towards players new to UFS. The decks are strong, but are fairly straightforward and don't use many weird mechanics etc. So it's a somewhat simplified deck you can use well even if you don't know the game very well. 3. I didn't find anyone who could confirm which tins have which RMs as promo cards, but the RMs will be the six from Rockman 1 - Cutman, Gutsman, etc - and distributed non-randomly, three per tin. 4. The three booster packs in the tins are random, like you expect boosters to be. They contain the support cards for the six RM characters, plus support cards tied to the larger Megaman story, such a cards referencing Dr. Wily or Dr. Light. Right now the only way to get the cards that are in those boosters is by buying the tins (the boosters won't be sold separately) but they may print more and sell them separately in the future - this depends on how well the tins sell and on how Capcom wants to proceed with the license (whether they want the tins to be a one-off thing or whether they want to extend the license to individual boosters or even additional precons, whatever).